Chapter 91: The Female Wolf Demon & The Lunar Rainbow Promise
Evening casts a deep hue of orange across the skies of Sengoku Edo, and we find ourselves at a more desolate piece of the landscape, where a large white-furred wolf of considerable age with thick bushy eyebrows sits atop a cliff side overlooking the land in thought...
(...Whoosh)
Suddenly, a whirlwind of leaves appears and dissipates several feet behind the wolf, revealing a young woman of demon origins with two long pigtails of brown-red hair and a white headband holding an iris flower in place on her right side, lightly-cut bangs styled over her forehead and highlighting her dark green eyes while covering her pointed ears, wearing an outfit of white wolf fur draped over her shoulders like a cape held on with a necklace of three pieces of jade shaped like canine teeth, a matching fur skirt that sat as short as her upper thighs, fur-lined leg and wrist guards, and blue armour with a red outline around the sweetheart neckline.
She was kneeling with several other white-furred wolves sitting at attention in a line behind her, awaiting the order from the elder wolf...He nods, and the rest disperse.
...Sometime later during nightfall, as numerous fireflies gently glow near a shallow, stony river, we find Kōga sprinting through the water away from several of the white-furred wolves from earlier, using his raw strength and the power of the Shikon-no-Tama shards in his legs to fight them off. He would then leap up onto a high tree branch, before calling down to the growling wild canines,
"You better back down or I'll get serious!"
"...Short-tempered as always."
"Hm?"
(Whoosh)
The demon girl would then make her appearance atop a rock in the river, her iris (which upon closer inspection is seen to be blue-petaled with yellow stamen extending out from the base) glittering in the night glow. She lets out a laugh, prompting Kōga to glare down at her while demanding,
"Who are you, and why did you send your wolves after me? You got a bone to pick with me or somethin'?"
It was around then that his comrades, Ginta and Hakkaku, finally catch up with him, panting in exhaustion from their latest attempt to meet his speed, or at the very least not get left too far behind, again...The latter asks aloud once he catches his breath,
"Isn't that Ayame, the Granddaughter of the old Chief?"
Ginta replies,
"Yeah, I think so, though I heard she went north with the elder a long time ago."
"She must've come back, then."
Kōga's ears pick up on his friends pondering, and does a second look at the female wolf demon below:
"Ayame...?"
"I came to give you gramp's message."
"What message?"
"(Smile) You were gonna take me for your wife, just as you promised, Kōga."
His jaw drops:
"My...wife?!"
The other two males gape in shock, and Ayame alliterates her case:
"You have Shikon-no-Tama shards, don't you? With those in your possession, you'll be worthy of ruling the clan. So come with me and let's get married."
"Guh! L-Listen, stop jokin' around! Why should I marry you?"
A frown forms on the redheaded wolf demon's face:
"Uh...You don't remember?"
"Remember what?"
"Kōga, you promised to marry me when I came down from the northern mountains!"
The male felt his knees buckle from the pressure of this new information he clearly does not recall, while Ginta and Hakkaku turn and gasp at one another, before turning back to get confirmation from their friend:
"Kōga, did you really make such a promise?!"
"Does that mean those feelings for Coraline were a mistake?"
(...Leap)
Ayame then hops all the way up to the tree branch that Kōga was standing on, and grabs his arm:
"A-Uh, hey, what're you doin'?!"
"Gramps said to bring you back, with force if necessary!"
"D-Don't, we're gonna fall!"
(...Snap)
The branch breaks from the wobbling weight, and both wolf demons yelp as they fall straight into the river:
(Splash...)
"Kōga! Are you alright?!"
Ginta and Hakkaku begin rushing down closer to the water, just as their friend and Ayame resurface...Kōga is then struggling to get out of her hold as they move back to the shoreline:
"Let go, of my hand!"
The white-furred wolves circle around behind them, and two proceed to seize the male by his calves with their jaws. The action doesn't hurt Kōga, of course: It just annoys him further.
"Get, lost, will ya?!"
"Don't let him get away!"
That's when he resorts to a last resort plan of escape:
"I already have a fiance named Coraline that I'm gonna marry! I wouldn't have made any promises to wed you!"
He then uses his own whirlwind to shake off Ayame's hold, and leaps onto a nearby boulder, before rushing away altogether...But the young woman's focus...was on what the runaway wolf demon just said:
"A...fiance...?...Coraline...?"
And she wasn't the only one: Ginta and Hakkaku cringe from their friend's statement, remembering a recent letter that was sent to the former by Freeman, highlighting recent events...including another redhead's proclamation of love.
"Did, he just say...?"
"Ooooh, this isn't good. This is gonna come flying back at him later, I just know it. Wait up, Kōgaaa!"
As they run off to catch up with him, Ginta thinks to himself,
I gotta send a warning message back to Freeman next time we stop!
As soon as all three male wolf demons were gone, Ayame shakes off her stupor, and frowns with an unimpressed glare:
"...Don't tell me he's seriously forgotten."
Her wolf companions howl, and she smiles sadly at them, before turning her gaze longingly to the full moon hovering over the land:
"...He did promise...on the night of the Lunar Rainbow."
Time Skip
Come the next day, we catch up with Inuyasha and company, as their latest journey out of the Goshinboku Village pauses at a cliff outside the forest, having so far come up with no new leads regarding the disappearance of the evil half-demon, Naraku.
Miroku asks Sango, who was sitting on twin boulders with Coraline, Kilala and Shippo,
"Hear anything about where Naraku went?"
"We checked everywhere..." Shippo adds,
"We've asked all over, but there weren't even any rumours about Naraku."
"I see..."
The monk turns his gaze to Inuyasha, who was sitting against the rocky wall in a sulking manner by a statue depicting a priest of sorts, with Freeman laying upside down with his legs against the rock face on his left, and Besa sitting in front of his brother with a knee propped up, while saying,
"Inuyasha hasn't been able to pick up any scent of Naraku either."
Besa adds,
"And Cora hasn't detected his Aura. (Looks in her direction) Right, sis?"
She calls back,
"Yeah. Even with Lumos helping me, I've been coming up with busts."
Said Will O' Wisp was gliding through the air in a steady pace around the group, his mood no better than the rest of them. Inuyasha confirms Miroku's comment:
"Not a whiff. (Folds his arms) I cannot believe that a Demonic Aura that strong could disappear so easily, though."
Shippo takes a sip of water from a green water bottle he was given a while back and says simply,
"Not much we can do, I guess..."
Sango then asks Coraline,
"Coraline, I don't suppose you've been able to sense the jewel shards either?"
"(Shakes head) 'Fraid not. They're as dead to the world as that bastard is."
Miroku then smiles and says in a more reassuring tone,
"No sense getting overly worried: As long as we keep collecting the jewel shards as usual, I'm sure that Naraku will eventually come after them himself."
Inuyasha wasn't overly pleased with such a strategy (which is ironic, since he conveyed such a tactic once in their earlier searches...):
"Grh, forget it! We can't just wait around."
"What choice do we have?"
The dog demon opens his mouth at the ready to try and argue...but winds up just scoffing while avoiding Miroku's eye. Besa then says in thought,
"...I think what we should be considering, is how much there actually is left of the jewel to find."
Sango nods in agreement:
"That is a good point. Just how many shards are there left out there, besides the ones that are already in Naraku's possession?"
Miroku and Freeman both shrug:
"Who knows?"
"Depends on how many pieces it broke into from the get-go."
Coraline reaches into the pocket of her jeans, and pulls out the small bottle that held the shards the group does possess:
Hm...Well, I'm holding onto the three we have...
There's the one shard within Kohaku's back...
Oh! And then the two embedded in Kōga's legs...Speaking of wolf-boy, we haven't ran into him for a while.
...I wonder how he's doing?
Ayame's POV
I'm sitting on a boulder by the riverside with my fellow wolves, kicking my feet lightly in the water...before stopping and letting out a long, discouraged sigh. One of my friends comes to nuzzle me in comfort, and I wrap an arm loosely around her head while muttering,
"It was a long time ago...but it's still a promise..."
(Flash)
I remember, he carried me on his back through the forest after rescuing me, as the rain fell softly on our bodies. I was smaller in those days, and more prone to being attacked by demons who would be bigger and stronger...
As I held my blue iris to my eyes, sad and disappointed with myself from earlier, he says to me,
"Alright, don't overdo it...And when it gets to be too hard, don't you worry."
He turned to me with a grin and promised,
"One day, I'll make you my wife, Ayame."
My heart swelled, and I nodded with my own smile, as we kept our journey on back home...
(Flash)
"I was just a child back then...so there's not much I can do if Kōga doesn't remember."
I let go of my friend and wonder sadly,
"Maybe I should return to the mountains..."
But as I said that, I remember what Grandfather said to me before I left:
(Flash)
"My territory's being overrun...Without the Shikon-no-Tama, we cannot overcome this struggle...Find Kōga, and bring him here as soon as you can."
(Flash)
I shake my head, reaffirming myself:
"No, I can't give and go home now! (Stands) I'll try again! I'll find him and try one more time!"
With that, I use my demon speed and leap off, following his scent with my friends tagging behind me...
Small Time Skip, No POV
We turn our eyes to the remains of what was once Naraku's castle, it now being searched all over by Kōga, Ginta, Hakkaku and several wolves for any signs of the demon in question...However, much like the group who searched here last, they too came up empty with leads, to which the leading wolf demon would not take to well:
"...I don't like the looks of this at all."
(Sniff) This castle reeks of Naraku's scent, yet there's no sign of him at all...
He walks over to one of the cut marks in the ground made from Inuyasha's Wind Scar during the battle that took place here a while back, and scoops up some of the soil while thinking,
This gouge in the land...
At the same time, Ginta was just finishing writing a quick message to send to someone via the sparrow demon, Yosuzume, while squatting behind one of the more intact houses of the castle, as Hakkaku kept watch so their other friend didn't see what they were up to:
"(Whisper) Hurry with that message, Ginta!"
"(Hiss) I'm writing as fast as I can!...Okay, done."
He then walks over to the black-feathered bird demon who was standing at the ready, and ties the small scroll onto its leg:
"Okay, here it is. You know who to go to; now please hurry!"
The Yoszume caws quietly with a head bop, before silently taking flight from the area. Ginta watches the bird disappear while thinking with a worry brow,
I really hope Freeman gets the warning in time, for Coraline's sake at least...
The two wolf demons then rush to report their search of the castle to Kōga, with Hakkaku quietly asking the other,
"You sure that was a good idea?"
"Not really, but it's better those guys get a heads-up about Ayame before she runs into them..."
Shivering, the two reach their friend, focusing back on what brought them here, with Ginta stating,
"Kōga, the castle is totally empty!"
He stands back up and replies,
"Let's go."
"Huh?" "Where to?"
"Where else? We're gonna find that mangy mutt and question 'im. That stupid mutt's scent is all over the place. Somethin' must've happened between him and Naraku."
"Ah, I get it." "Inuyasha might know something."
(Whoosh)
Kōga creates a whirlwind around his body and starts the trek out the castle and off to where Inuyasha and company would be, with Ginta, Hakkaku and the other wolves rushing behind him:
"Hey, wait!" "Don't leave us!"
As he kept his pace, Kōga concludes,
Naraku isn't here, but if he's nearby, he's sure to come after me for the Shikon-no-Tama shards in my legs...!
(...Ping)
Just as the said pieces of gem emit a faint gleam, deep within the dark and dank basement of the ruined castle...some shreds of flesh and strands of thick, black hair began to slowly move and mold together...
Shortly after the first group of wolves and wolf demons leave, the white-furred wolves enter the area, and began sniffing around for their target...Ayame, sitting atop the watchtower, calls them over with a shrill whistle, and they speak through their howls what their noses picked up...
"(Nod) Hmph. I picked up his scent too: Kōga was here not too long ago...Feel that?"
Her eyes turn upward to look around the place, feeling a strange, dark vibe emitting...
"I dunno what it is about this place, but it gives me the creeps..."
(...Rumble)
Suddenly, the earth begins to quake:
"W-What? What was that?"
(CRASH)
Next thing Ayame knew, the dirt uproots, and a massive sphere-shaped monster made entirely of thick tendrils of black hair and a swollen-lipped mouth comes rising from where the basement of the castle would be!
"What is that thing?! Uah!"
(Leap, shoom)
She jumps to the ground and off the watchtower in time to doge a few tendrils, before gasping when she watches two of her wolf companions get grabbed by the hair monster, its intent to obviously consume them! Thinking quickly, Ayame takes out a leaf, and uses it like a throwing star to cut the hair tendrils away, freeing the wolves! They land on the dirt safely, as the hair monster begins to gnarl out a set of razor sharp teeth...
Ayame lets out a growl, before using another one of her abilities: She punches the ground in front of her hard, and summons a torrent of leaves to swarm at the monster, and distract it long enough for her and the wolves to escape...
She's then seen sprinting through the nearby forest far from the castle, but the hair monster was still tailing her. Ayame glances back at it and wonders,
"What is that thing? Why is it after me?"
As she focuses up front, the redheaded wolf demon found that she had caught up with,
"Uh! Ginta! Hakkaku!"
They look back at her, and start to panic:
"Guh! Oh no, it's Ayame!"
"What is she doing here?!" Oh man, I hope my message made it before now...!
"How should I know?!"
Ayame would then leap in front of their path and block them from running any further so she could get answers to the following questions:
"Hold it right there! What were you two doing in that creepy castle? Where's Kōga, and what's with that demon?"
"...Demon?"
That was when the hair monster pops out from the tree cover behind them, causing them all to yell in terror, before Ayame uses another leaf shuriken to cut at the beast's hair tendrils to scare it away...As they watched it slither off, Ginta exclaims,
"Did that nightmare come out of Naraku's Castle?!"
"Naraku's...Castle?"
Hakkaku explains to Ayame,
"You don't know because you've been in the mountains with the elder: Our comrades from the North and East have all been slaughtered."
Ginta adds,
"Yeah! A demon named Naraku slayed them all!"
"Poor Kōga's been looking all over for Naraku to get revenge..."
Ayame looks down with sadness in her eyes:
"...I had no idea..."
Ginta's yelp would bring her back to reality, and all three watch as the hair monster returns to attack:
"Gaah, it's coming again!"
They spin around the other direction to start running again, as the beast began crashing through the trees after them...
Freeman's POV
We had just exited the path of the more mountainous cliff ranges not too long ago, entering a new one that ran by a section of woods, and I the next thing I knew, the Yosozume comes swooping down from the sky:
(Screech)
"Huh?"
The others stop as well, just as the sparrow demon lands smoothly on the ground, eyeing me with intent, its leg carrying a message. Shippo asks me from atop my bro's shoulder,
"Isn't that the messenger bird you and Ginta have been using for the last while?"
"It is...though it's a bit strange: Usually, it's a while before I hear back from him, but here we have a letter just fours days after sending mine."
I bend down and take the scroll, giving the bird demon the go-ahead to fly off to who knows...Curious about the more sudden reply, I unroll the parchment...only to furrow my brows in confusion and surprise from such an odd message:
"Oookaaay, this is different..."
"What is it, Freeman?"
I turn to the others and reply to Miroku's question,
"Uh, there's really no other way of describing this: He's basically sent me, or, actually, more so to sis, a warning about someone."
That caused a collective spread of the 'hah?' expression:
"What?"
"Warning?"
"What're you talking about?"
I notice Inuyasha put a protective arm around Coraline with a suspicious air, so I clear my throat and say,
"Just to clarify, the warning's not referring to Kōga...at least, not directly. Ginta's writing's a bit scribbly this round, so he must've done it in a hurry, but from what I can read, he's saying to keep our eyes and ears out for someone named, 'Ayame', due to a, communication blunder of sorts between her and Kōga."
Cora asks me,
"Communication blunder?"
"Yeah, that's where the writing got real messy...but it looks like he might've said something he shouldn't have to this Ayame character, and if Ginta said to warn you, then it must have something to do with unrequited feelings. At least that's what I'm guessing from context."
"...What?!"
My sister facepalms and groans,
"You have got, to be kidding me...(Mutter) Dammit, wolf-boy, what did you do now...?"
Just then, she darts her head up with a stiffened expression, like she sensed something. Inuyasha asks,
"What's wrong now?"
"...The Shikon-no-Tama. I sense pieces of it nearing."
No POV
As she says that, everyone turns to see a familiar tornado heading their way, while Inuyasha frowns deeply, his ears twitching...
"It's that whirlwind!" Freeman mutters after Sango's note,
"Wow, and we were just discussing him. That's crazy timing!"
Inuyasha cracks the knuckles of his clawed fingers with a scoff:
"Thought I smelled somethin'. Now I'm startin' to recognize the stench."
Coraline looks at him with a slightly worried expression:
"...Getting riled up already, are we?"
The dog demon sprints forward, intent fixed on attacking the approaching wolf demon:
"I'll teach that skinny wolf a lesson for comin' here to flirt with Coraline!"
"Inuyasha, wait!"
"Kōga!"
(Bonk)
"Guh!"
But said wolf demon easily hops on the other's head, sending him to the ground, and landing smoothly a few feet from Coraline's direction...
"Inuyasha!"
Coraline leans down to check on him, while sending a glare at the wolf demon:
"Really, Kōga? Ya couldn't have just jumped over him?"
He looks at her and replies casually,
"Hello to you too. Not my fault he was in my path...So, you doin' fine?"
As she pulls Inuyasha to his feet, Coraline replies with a shrug,
"Could be better if my boyfriend wasn't bein' used as a springboard..."
The dog demon looks down at her oddly, but fehs while wrapping an arm around her and sending a glare at Kōga. He in turn watches the physical display and thinks on the word Coraline used to describe Inuyasha, before grumbling to himself in his head,
Damn...The mutt's claimed her! Not that I really had a chance looking back, but still!
Giving himself a headshake, Kōga gets back to what brought him here:
"Hey, mutt, where's Naraku? I know you know, so fess up now."
"Is that really what you came here for?"
"What do you think?"
"Then don't you get any ideas of flirtin' with my intended!"
The others gasp from the sudden outburst, and Coraline blushes deeply from the address:
I-Intended?! Oh wow...
"Tch, like I can't already smell your scents intermingling?! Now hurry up and answer my question!"
"(Ghostly moan)"
"Huh?" "Hm?"
It was then Lumos pops out of Coraline's satchel, and floats between the shouting canine demons as his way to get them to stop...Miroku then cuts into the conversation:
"Take it easy, you two. We're still looking for Naraku as well."
Kōga takes a step back and cools a little as he went into thought:
"That's what I don't understand: What would force Naraku to abandon his castle and run away?"
Besa replies,
"Because he decided to play chicken after seeing what Inuyasha was capable of."
That only confused the wolf demon further, and Inuyasha scoffs with a small smirk before deciding to offer some insight, albeit in a somewhat bragging tone:
"Wanna know the truth, wolf? It's because I busted through Naraku's barrier, (holds up his sword) with the Tessaiga!"
Kōga was awestruck, and the dog demon adds with a smug air,
"Keh, shocked at my strength? Well ya should be!"
"You mean you got that close to Naraku...?"
The wolf demon's expression then turns furious as he yells,
"And you let him get away from you?! How stupid can you get?!"
Inuyasha was taken aback, speechless and unable to reply. Kōga then slaps his forehead and says,
"I don't believe this! (Shakes his head disappointingly) If I'd been there, Naraku would be dead and gone by now!"
The dog demon was now boiling mad, and was readying to brandish his Tessaiga out, despite Coraline's chiding:
"Grrrh, I'm not gonna put up with this...!"
"Inuyasha, please don't let him get to you..."
"Jumping to dumb conclusions...I'll kill him!"
...Suddenly, Kōga snaps into a wary expression, and the sky clouds over with a light rumble of thunder...Coraline shivers, and mutters while Lumos blinks his warning lights of red and white-blue,
"There's a dark Aura approaching..." Inuyasha turns his eyes to the air and adds,
"Yeah...and it's carrying Naraku's scent!"
The sound of crushed greenery is then heard echoing out of the nearby woods, and everyone tenses up on high alert, readying their weapons to attack...But instead of the impending threat, it would be Ginta and Hakkaku coming out of the tree cover with the brown-furred wolves:
"(Pant, pant) Kōga, there's somethin' weird goin on,"
"At Naraku's Castle!"
Before he could reply, Kōga's attention would then be directed, on the hair demon monster, as it sprang into view from the forest with a growl! Coraline's eyes widen as she exclaims,
"Holy-It's gigantic!"
Sango and Miroku ask aloud,
"What is that thing?!"
"Another Naraku incarnation?" Freeman mutters with a weird expression,
"If that's another incarnation, then Naraku's gottin' sloppy in his handy work..."
Besa slaps his arm with a mild glare, while Shippo exclaims with glaring eyes directed at the beast,
"It's some kind-of hair demon!"
Kōga mutters in realization,
"So that's what was in the castle..." Ginta confirms,
"No mistake about it. Ayame saw it too!"
"Ayame? She was with you? Where is she; what happened to her?!"
"We, lost her when we started runnin' from the demon!"
"What's goin' on?"
Why didn't I sense this demon sooner?
If things weren't already startling enough for the mass group, it would be when the hair demon suddenly spoke in a rumbling voice:
"Shikon...no-Tama, shards..."
Kōga tenses, and Inuyasha places an arm in front of Coraline who was standing a few steps behind him:
"Stay back, Coraline! This ugly hair demon must be after you and your jewel shards!"
"...Alright. (Small smirk) Just do what you gotta, and don't let things get so crazy that I have to play hero for you."
The dog demon smirks back at her and replies,
"Keh, that'll be the day," before turning attention to the hair demon:
"You're a real eyesore, demon, but at least you can talk! (Leap) Try chokin' on my fist, hairball!"
Grabbing the monster by one of its tendrils of hair, Inuyasha then flings it over his shoulder and slams it into the rock face of the cliff! The twins cheer at the act, before Freeman realizes,
Oh, wait: Since he's here anyway, I might as well see about gettin' a more full story from Ginta and that message he sent...
Speaking of the wolf demon, he and Hakkaku were in awe from Inuyasha's tactic:
"Wah!"
"Look at that brute strength!"
"...Ginta!"
They turn to see Freeman approaching them in a sprint, and Ginta softly addresses him:
"Freeman..."
"(Pant) I got your message earlier, but ya wrote it so fast that I couldn't read it all. (Forms a serious expression) Mind tellin' me what's goin' on in full regarding this, Ayame person?"
As Ginta begins explaining, with a bit of help from Hakkaku, Inuyasha interrogates the hair demon:
"Answer me: Where's Naraku gone to?"
Instead of offering any sort of reply, the demon then sends a tendril of hair straight towards Coraline! Inuyasha cries out her name in worry, while she prepares to defend herself via her ShatterSoul Sword:
(Shing) Damn...
(Grab)
"Uh!"
But then Kōga swoops in and takes her into his arms to get her out of the line of fire! He calls down below from the air as he leaped up high,
"Mutt, you take care of the demon! I'll get Coraline outta here and someplace safe!"
The redhead of course, was not pleased by his interference:
"Hey! Who said you could just sweep me up into your arms?! I would've slashed the hair away, dammit!"
Ignoring her protests, Kōga uses his demon speed to run down the face of the cliff down to the forest below...Coraline's yelp for Inuyasha echoes up to his ears, and he growls,
"Hey! Rrrgh, he's got some kind-a nerve, I tell ya, and after her protests too!"
How dare that mangy wolf make off with my intended!
(...Snap)
The hair he was holding then breaks at the seams, and the hair demon tumbles down off the cliff...Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kilala and Besa come to Inuyasha's side, the monk muttering,
"It just, fell..."
Inuyasha groans in frustration, as Sango comments,
"It wasn't too strong considering it was a demon created by Naraku..."
But the dog demon saw through the feign:
"It was no accident: It went down on purpose. That thing's after the Shikon-no-Tama shards!"
By this time, Freeman had finished speaking with Ginta and Hakkaku regarding the message sent before, and he stands up while thinking to himself with a cringe,
...That might not be our only problem in the next bit.
Coraline's POV
Damn it! I gotta live a déjà vu moment with this guy again?! Ugh, Inuyasha's not gonna be happy about this...
I look up at wolf-boy and try to get his attention as he kept running through treetops with me in his arms:
"Rgh, h-hey, Kōga, where the hell are we going, anyway?!"
"Where? Somewhere where the demon won't come after us!"
"Yeah? Well you're gonna have two pissed off demons after you in the next bit if you don't set me dow-...Hang on, I just remembered something: Kōga, can you tell me who this Aya-"
Just before I could finish my question, we were suddenly attacked by what looked to be leaves imitating throwing stars! Luckily, wolf-boy's faster and leaps onto a large boulder stuck in the mossy grass. I mutter with a groan,
"Now what?"
That was when a young woman, a fellow redhead who looked to be of wolf demon origins dressed in white furs, appears on a rock a couple feet in front of us:
"Kōga!"
"Guh, Ayame!"
I widen my eyes a bit:
So this is Ayame...Wonder why she looks so pissed?
"Kōga! That girl's a mortal, idiot! Are you out of your mind?!"
Wait...Oh hell no, does she think-Did he say-?!
I shove myself away from him to my own feet, a furious expression beginning to form on my face, as Kōga replies,
"No and I don't have time to stand around gabbing!"
He adds to me in a lower tone,
"Coraline, run for it."
"Gh, (glare) not until you explain to me what exactly you told this girl, you idgit!"
Ayame interrupts before I could go on with my own interrogation:
"(Tick-mark) Coraline? Little hussy! That's the name of the so-called fiance you mentioned!"
"Whoa whoa, what?! Kōga said what?!"
She waves her fists in a jealous rage and shouts,
"Kōga is mine!"
(...CLONK)
"Oooow!"
After sending a good suckerpunch to the top of his head, I yell at wolf-boy for his major incompetence:
"Of all the idiot, insensitive, moronic! Kōga, why the hell did you tell this girl that I'm your fiance?!"
"Uuuh...it was the first thing that I blurted out at the time?"
"That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard!"
Ayame's yell cuts in again:
"I'm Kōga's only fiance! You can drop dead!"
(Swipe, slash)
"Uh!" "(Gasp)"
Thankfully, my reflexes and speed have increased in this past while, and I was able to draw my ShatterSoul and use it to cut down on the leaves that were thrown in my direction using my Aura energy...I give the woman Ayame a serious stare while holding my sword in a defensive stance:
"Look, I dunno what the hell he's told you, but he obviously fed you a lie. Now cut the aggression and let's try to talk this out."
Kōga rebuffs me for my move:
"Coraline, are you nuts?! You could've been cut down!"
"Shut up, wolf-boy. You've already dug enough of a grave with me as it is, so don't bother making it deeper."
He recoils in a twinge of fear from how angry I sounded, and then Ayame shouts at him,
"How could you fall for a mortal?! Where's your Wolf Demon Tribe pride?!"
"Lay off! I had feelings for Coraline! You have no right to judge me!"
Her glaring green eyes fall on my form:
"Cor-a-line..." I reply calmly,
"Yes, Ayame?"
"I don't like this!"
"Feelin's mutual, believe me."
"You and share similar looks!"
"Huh? You're, kidding, right?"
Sure, we're both redheads, but she's a demon and I'm human. The differences skyrocket from there...
Heeey, wait a minute!
"We're, both, redheads..."
I whirl around and glare at Kōga, realizing,
"I was another type-cast for you!"
"Huh?!"
I let out a bitter laugh and say in a loud, sarcastic tone,
"Woooow, this is reeeaaal classy, wolf-boy: You're a liar and you've got a thing for fiery redheads. Thanks alot."
"W-Wait, hold on, I didn't-"
He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, when Ayame argues back in:
"Even if you wanted to marry that girl, you can't go against the tribe's code and marry a mortal!"
"The elder's rules and codes have nothing to do with me! What makes you think I'd say I'd marry you, anyway?!"
The two growl at one another for a moment...before Ayame softly replied,
"You promised me..."
"Uh?"
"(Light blush) On the night of the Lunar Rainbow. Don'tchu remember at all?"
"Lunar...Rainbow?"
I thought on the description of the night in question:
A lunar rainbow...Oh! Now I remember: Father once told me about it. It's a rare phenomenon that occurs about the same way a regular rainbow does, but the conditions have to be very precise for it to happen...
"I was still only a young girl back then..."
I look up out of my thoughts and listen as Ayame describes the night from long ago:
"I was lost near the nests of the Birds of Paradise demons...I was about to be devoured..."
She goes on with how Kōga bravely took down the bird demons, before generously taking Ayame home to her grandfather on his back. Apparently, along the way, he promised to take her as his wife, and during the evening they made the journey back into the Northern Mountains, they were lucky enough to catch the sight of the Lunar Rainbow...
I felt my heart swell a little at her story:
Wow...Now that's what I call romantic.
Unfortunately, Kōga's memory seemed shotty with the details:
"A-Are you p-positive I-I-I said that? Are you, sure I said that and not, s-somethin' else?"
Ayame nods, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes...I felt so sorry for her, and immediately began chewing wolf-boy out:
"How can you possibly not remember something so endearing?!"
I look back at Ayame, who clenched her fist over her breast as she adds,
"I kept those words in my heart...(Shouts) They were the only thing that kept me going through the hard training in the mountains!"
She...sounds so much like Koharu...with the words that Miroku said to her when she was younger...
God, what the hell's wrong with men these days, with their halfhearted promises?!
...I definitely came off lucky with Inuyasha.
"You're a disgrace to men everywhere, Kōga!"
"Cor-aline..."
"(Point) Look at her: Don't you see what you've done?"
We both turn to see Ayame's hurt and angry expression, her eyes welling deeper in tears...While Kōga starts to sweat nervously, I let out a tired sigh and shake my head, while looking at the fellow redhead in sympathy:
I'm so sorry, Ayame...